India: Thermal coal port stocks hit nearly 3-month low

Thermal coal inventories at Indian ports declined significantly in week 7 of CY’25, registering an 8.6% drop to 12.58 million tonnes (mnt) from 13.76 mnt recorded in the previous week, hitting a nearly 3-month low, as per BigMint data. The weekly stocks are lowest since those recorded in early-December’24. The decline was largely driven by reduced stock levels at major ports, with Paradip, Vizag, Haldia, and Krishnapatnam witnessing notable decreases. While most ports reported a decline in inventories, a few, such as Dhamra and Kakinada, showed an increase.

Company-wise break-up

Stocks held by major coal-handling companies also registered a decline. Adani Enterprise saw its inventories drop by 12.8% to 3.16 mnt in week 7 from 3.62 mnt in the previous week. Similarly, Agarwal Coal recorded an 11.2% decrease, with stock levels falling to 1 mnt from 1.13 mnt last week.

Port-wise break-up

Among the major ports, Paradip recorded a notable decline in stock levels, with inventories falling by 11.9% to 1.46 mnt in week 7 from 1.66 mnt in the previous week. Vizag also reported a significant drop, with stockpiles decreasing by 11.6% to 0.86 mnt from 0.98 mnt w-o-w. Haldia’s thermal coal inventory reduced by 10.2%, falling to 0.36 mnt from 0.40 mnt, while Gangavaram saw a 9.5% decline to 0.37 mnt from 0.41 mnt.

Krishnapatnam reported the steepest fall in stock levels among all ports, registering a 35.6% decline to 0.42 mnt from 0.66 mnt w-o-w. Kandla also saw a major decline of 31.7%, with stock levels dropping to 0.23 mnt from 0.33 mnt.

On the other hand, Dhamra was one of the few ports to witness an increase in stock levels, with inventories rising by 10.2% to 1.34 mnt in week 7 from 1.22 mnt in the previous week.

The decline in overall thermal coal inventories at Indian ports suggests a lower stock buildup in the market, which could indicate a shift in demand-supply dynamics.

Market overview

Portside South African thermal coal prices in India remained steady this week. RB2 (5500 NAR) was assessed at INR 8,650/t exw-Gangavaram, while RB3 (4800 NAR) stayed at INR 7,250/t. Traders offered RB2 at INR 8,100/t exw-Mangalore, with recent trades at INR 8,500/t exw-Vizag. Weak demand and competitive domestic supply limited price movement.

South Africa’s RB2 export prices rose by $1/t w-o-w to $83/t FOB, while RB3 increased to $63/t FOB. Sponge C-DRI prices edged up by INR 200/t w-o-w to INR 25,900/t exw-Rourkela. Portside coal prices may stay under pressure amid subdued demand.